Overview

By the time she was thirty, Gila Pfeffer was the oldest living member of her family, having lost her mother to breast cancer and her father to colon cancer. A simple blood test confirmed she carried the BRCA1 gene--which put her at high risk of developing cancer herself. Determined to break the cycle of early death in her family, Gila decides to undergo an elective double mastectomy. This memoir follows her journey as she becomes a reluctant expert on how to sit shiva, grows up, falls in love, and enters motherhood, before her life is derailed yet again. Her double mastectomy reveals cancer already growing in one breast. After enduring eight rounds of chemo and the removal of her ovaries, she takes her last-ever dip in the mikvah waters as a bald, menopausal, thirty-five-year-old mother of four. With chutzpah honed over years of repeatedly surviving the worst, she manages to save her own life. Drenched in Gila's dark humor, Nearly Departed is a story about thriving against the odds, committing to what's important, and leaving a better legacy than the one you inherited.

Full Product Details

9798228009912

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

"Gila Pfeffer is a Jewish American writer and humorist. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, the New Yorker, McSweeney's, Today.com, and elsewhere. Gila's monthly ""Feel It on the First"" campaign reminds women to prioritize their breast health. She splits her time between New York City and London. Gila Pfeffer is a Jewish American writer and humorist. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, the New Yorker, McSweeney's, Today.com, and elsewhere. Gila's monthly ""Feel It on the First"" campaign reminds women to prioritize their breast health. She splits her time between New York City and London."

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available